Asia Pacific – Creators of Hope: Empowering a hope-filled future
In April 2022, the Reconciliation with Creation network of the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific initiated a search for young people, who with their team or group, are making a significant contribution to their community through projects that respond to the urgent ecological crises of our time. The network intended to provide modest grants to support these projects and promote their continuation. With their passion and commitment, these young people serve as a source of hope for others. Thus, Fr Gabby Lamug-Nañawa SJ, network coordinator, dubbed them “Creators of Hope”. The project was born out of “the belief in the importance of hope in the world today, especially hope generated by the youth and for the youth,” as Fr Nañawa put it. This theme is especially poignant given the global pandemic of the past two years.
By mid-year, five projects were selected from across Asia Pacific. These ranged from a small farm in Chiang Mai, Thailand to an ecological boarding school in West Java, Indonesia, a small village in Myanmar, and the islands of the Philippines. It was important to find young people with different backgrounds, different faiths, and different affiliations but all dedicated to helping the environment, their communities, and each other. Gender, race, religion, cultural identity, sexual orientation, or disability were not determining factors for selection. The only requirement was that the applicants were engaged in an ecological service project that addresses current environmental issues and benefits the lives of a community, especially the poor, while also demonstrating aspects of Pope Francis’ teachings in Laudato sí. Each project was chosen for its positive impact or contribution to the community and values, such as compassion, generosity, creativity, love for creation, and service for the poor, that are apparent in the project and among those involved.
Amongst the peaceful fields in Garut, West Java is the Pesantren Ekologi Ath-thariq, a boarding school founded in 2008 by Nissa Wargadipura. Her son, Akhfaa Nazhat Al Wafaa, is one of the grantees of the project. Growing up on the farm, Akhfaa learned to recognise various types of dragonflies, butterflies, birds and medicinal plants, and to distinguish between female and male animals within the area. He also became adept at creating seed art. Along with other student boarders and his family, Akhfaa lives in the Pesantren, where they teach principles from the Qur’an together with the farming practices of agroecology. The 19-year-old electrical engineering student at the University of Garut says, “Practicing agroecology ensures the fertility of the soil and results in a good harvest.” In between times of prayer, study, and studying at the university, all the boarders participate in the work done on the different zones of the one-hectare farm. There they learn to live closely attuned to nature, respecting the cycles of the plants, the interdependence with the animals, the healing properties of specific leaves and flowers, the flow of energy from the sun, wind, and rain. Akhfaa has taken these lived-principles as his own and sees their potential in responding to the climate and ecological crises. Read more …
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